Church leaders: "We have a duty to oppose a war'

BISHOP'S VOICE

October 05, 2002|By PAUL V. MARSHALL, Special to The Morning Call -- Freelance

When you read this, we may already be at war.

As I write from a meeting of the bishops of the Episcopal Church, Congress is about to begin debate on pre-emptive measures against Iraq.

Our discussion has been intense, and we recognize that our first duty is to call people to prayer for our country and the world. Prayer, however, leads us to witness to our moral commitments.

With the leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Orthodox Church in America, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops -- among others -- we find that we have a duty to oppose a war. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the United States, together with other nations, has attempted to heighten world security through focused activity against al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations. We support these efforts for the sake of the human family.

We are not soft on Iraq. The brutality and overall evil of the Saddam Hussein regime stand condemned before the world. So, why do we hesitate?

Like many people of good will, we consider war a last resort. In fact, all Episcopalians formally and regularly commit themselves "to strive for justice and peace among all people." We believe that restraint and continued commitment to international cooperation provide the path to lasting peace. Our concern is not just for the elimination of terrorism, but the elimination of the conditions that produce it.

Martin Luther King Jr. once observed that "violence is the cry of the unheard." We must never condone terrorism, but we are fools if we do not seek to understand its causes.

War is sometimes unavoidable, but at this point it is hard to see how a war with Iraq can be justified. Nobody claims that we have thoroughly pursued multilateral resolution of the matter. We have not even engaged in serious discussion of the possibility of economic sanctions. Worse still, a pre-emptive strike against Iraq and the degree of destruction necessary for clear and quick victory guarantee increased civilian casualties.

Without sufficient evidence of the need for us to defend ourselves, it is impossible to support the administration's moral choice to go to war, and a moral choice it is. The wiser moments of Christian and other spiritual traditions teach us to use the greatest prudence and caution when contemplating the use of lethal force.

We must accept the fact that the consequences of war with Iraq will not be contained within the borders of that country. Escalating the level of violence in the world virtually guarantees that the cycle of violence such as we have seen in Northern Ireland and the Middle East will continue.

Issues of church and state aside, we must ask ourselves if we are prepared to take the hard look at our nation, its economy and its role in the world that invoking God's name always demands. As we continue to search for the perpetrators of the obscenity of Sept. 11, 2001, we must maintain the perspective and discernment that keeps the United States free -- and civilized.

The Right Rev. Paul V. Marshall is bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem.